With the recent headlines of the Fast & Furious debacle and Conceal & Carry laws, the Second Amendment in the United States is a hot topic. There are so many opinions, issues and legislations currently across the country concerning the right to bear arms.
Now the UFC seemingly has indirectly taken a stand by banning firearm and ammunition sponsors, due to the pressure they received from outside sources. They have even gone as far as to ban knife and hunting companies.
Surely enough there will be a backlash from the sportsman community, as well as the military.
The UFC is a pure-combat sport. There is no questioning that. They have major support from the military and promote fighters who have served our country by using guns. There is a large demographic of servicemen that are hard-core fans of the sport.
The UFC has promoted fights on military bases, which has always been a ratings boost. This is why some people are questioning the flip-flop to not supporting certain sponsors.
Will any fighters that served our country stand up to the ban that is in favor of the Second Amendment?
There are many hunters that are also a big part of MMA.
They could look to lose some large contracts when it comes to sponsorship from these companies.
Also, you have the conversion of MMA fighters into action movie stars. Randy Couture is blasting away enemies in The Expendables and Rampage Jackson stars in a movie like the A-Team. Even Keith Jardine was recently a co-star who played a gun runner in a Steve Austin movie. MMA legend Bas Rutten, alongside the rising star Gina Carano, was in movies putting guns on a pedestal.
Firearms and all other weapons are the foundation of these films.
The UFC supports theses ventures with promotions and never once protested the fighters starring in these genres. The UFC heavily promoted Call of Duty Modern Warfare during The Ultimate Fighter series. This now creates a somewhat hypocritical stand with the sponsorship ban.
Surely, this wasn’t a decision that was made on a whim.
Zuffa had to sit down and really think about what all of these actions would entail. They have no trouble having alcohol sponsors being splattered all over the octagon. Alcohol can be just as dangerous, but is just as legal as the sponsors that were banned. Beer and liquor sponsors are the norm for all of the major sports. It seems that MMA is trying to become mainstream—acceptance and mass appeal is what makes a business grow in the first place.
Since this issue is a polarizing topic, is it possible that Zuffa just wanted to appeal to a worldwide audience?
They are growing by leaps and bounds throughout the globe every day. Unlike many other countries that have major laws against civilians owning weapons, the United States has stood strong keeping our Second Amendment a part of the culture.
The question is: How will these companies respond to not having an option to sponsor a fighter that supports a certain way of life?
Will Dana White fire anybody if they stand up and are vocal about the sponsorship ban on Twitter?
Bruce Lee said the enemy of martial arts was the gun, so I guess he was right after all.
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